In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

When people seek work-at-home or part-time jobs, the Better Business Bureau has advice on how to avoid losing money, instead of making money.  Monde Donaldson, Vice-President of the Educational Foundation of the Better Business Bureau Serving Central and South Alabama, talks with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, about how job seekers can avoid being taken advantage of in their job search. This is a re-broadcast of a program from June 26 2023.

In 1889, tensions between farmers and officials in the young town of Dothan, Alabama, led to a riot, a shootout, a murder, and a trial.  Historian Scotty Kirkland talks with In Focus host Carolyn Hutcheson about how the arrival of the Alabama Midland Railroad precipitated the conflict.

During 2020, WBHM Public Radio in Birmingham undertook a StoryCorps project called Take One Small Step Birmingham.  Michelle Little, oral historian, talked with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, during the Thanksgiving holidays about how the project paired 56 people, to explore their views in the midst of a pandemic and contentious political season. StoryCorps is  the national oral history project, with interviews stored at the Library of Congress.  Michelle's findings were that the participants found more in common than differences. 

On this episode of In Focus Weekend, we take a trip to a library for the blind and check in with, The Alabama Troubadour.
Karren Pell, author and singer-songwriter, talks with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, about her career, writing music for her book, "Alabama Troubadour," featuring songs for communities across Alabama, and the play, "Fair and Tender Ladies." She will appear September 28 at the New SouthBookstore in Montgomery with musician Nils Maaetoft.
And we visit the Alabama Public Library Service Regional Library for the Blind & Physically Disabled on Monticello Drive in Montgomery. Tim Emmons, Senior Librarian and Reader Advisor, and Karl Wade, longtime patron and Consumer Advisory Committee member, talk with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, about the library's services to 8000 statewide patrons.

In the 1920s, America's Black Wall Street, Greenwood, OK, was the scene of a raging fire that resulted from a racial incident. At roughly the same time, Osage Indians were being murdered an hour north of Tulsa, in a land grab scheme. Victor Luckerson, a Montgomery native, moved to Tulsa to research the era, and he shares his findings with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host. His book is "Built From the Fire, the Epic Story of Tulsa's Greenwood District, America's Black Wall Street." This program is part of The Storyline Book Series.

Karren Pell, author and singer-songwriter, talks with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, about her career, writing music for her book, "Alabama Troubadour," featuring songs for communities across Alabama, and the play, "Fair and Tender Ladies." She will appear September 28 at the NewSouth Bookstore in Montgomery with musician Nils Maaetoft.

Recently, In Focus visited the Alabama Public Library Service Regional Library for the Blind & Physically Disabled on Monticello Drive in Montgomery. Tim Emmons, Senior Librarian and Reader Advisor, and Karl Wade, longtime patron and Consumer Advisory Committee member, talk with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, about the library's services to 8000 statewide patrons.

Sports betting is an issue that many states are grappling with, so Troy University Professor Robert Mathner, a former NCAA Division One Athletics Compliance Officer, talks with In Focus host Carolyn Hutcheson about the issue.  A future In Focus episode will deal with this topic in greater detail.

Hybrid Warfare could be a factor in the political polarization griipping the U.S. today, according to the co-editors of the book, "The Challenge to NATO, Global Security and the Atlantic Alliance." Troy University Political Science Professors Michael Slobodchikoff and Doug Davis talk with In Focus host Carolyn Hutcheson about NATO, its mission and its adversaries.Brandon Stewart is the third co-editor of the book, which features chapters by notable contributors. This interview is the second of a two-part program in The Storyline book series on In Focus.
And
Kristy Meanor, Artistic Director of the Wetumpka Depot Players, talks with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, about the upcoming play, "Doubt - A Parable," winner of the Pulitzer Prize. They also discuss the Penguin Project, which will bring children with disabilities starring roles in a Christmas play. The young actors are paired with mentors of the same age.

Acclaimed author Frye Gaillard talks with In Focus host Carolyn Hutcheson about his years interviewing President Jimmy Carter.
With the former president in hospice, Gaillard reflects on Carter's role in history, as portrayed in his books, "Prophet From Plains - Jimmy Carter and His Legacy," and "With Music and Justice for All - Some Southerners and Their Passions."  
This program is part of The Storyline Book Series.